© 2026 WGCU News
News for all of Southwest Florida
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

American Scholar Released from Iranian Jail

An Iranian-American scholar who had been jailed for months in Iran has been freed on bail.

Haleh Esfandiari is director of the Middle East program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

In December, she was on the way to the Tehran airport after visiting her mother, when she was seized by masked men with knives. The government later confirmed it was detaining Esfandiari and questioning her.

It's unclear whether she'll be allowed to return to the United States.

Karim Sadjadpour, Iran scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a friend of Esfendiari, talks about the case with Melissa Block.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Trusted by over 30,000 local subscribers

Local News, Right Sized for Your Morning

Quick briefs when you are busy, deeper explainers when it matters, delivered early morning and curated by WGCU editors.

  • Environment
  • Local politics
  • Health
  • And more

Free and local. No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

More from WGCU